Method and apparatus for making wire glass



June 9, 1925.

Y F. GELSTHARP METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING WIRE GLASS Filed Sept. v26. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l HWI' am. v ifi-- T Q I wm; um., m,

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F. GELSTHARP METHOD AND APPARATUS FR MAKING WIRE GLAASS Filed s ept. 26. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'Q G 3 u Q N Si I l I LLI `Q @l l 5 I 6) ul (9 go x n n (o N` Il P. l l 'l lg a,

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I l 1' l x H m N /NvENToR making wire glass. It has for its primary Patented June 9, 1925. 1

UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

` FREDERICK GELSTHARP, 0F TARENTUM, PENNSYLVANIA, .ASSIGNOR T0 PI'ZIICLSBRGrElIA PLATE GLASS COMPANY, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING WIRE GLASS.

To aZZ lwhom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, FREDERICK GELS- THARI, a citizen of AGreat Britain, and a resident of 'Tarentum, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have made a new and useful invention in Improvements in Methods and A paratus for Making lVire Glass, of which t e following is a specification. 4

The invention relates to an apparatus for objects the provision of an improved apparatus for producing the glass in a continuous ribbon or sheet directly from a tank. One

embodiment of the invention is illustrated 1n the accompanying drawings wherem:

Figure l is a vert1ca1 longitudinal-section through the apparatus and Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line II--II of Fig. 1. Referring to the drawings 1 is the for- Ward end or fore hearth of .a melting tank provided with an orifice 2 andwith a shear cake or block 3 suitably mounted for vertical movement andl adapted to cut olf the supply of glass to the orifice when occasion may require it. The orifice is preferably surrounded by a heating coil 4 of resistance material, such as nichrome, such coil being surrounded by suitable insulating material and maintained in position in the grooves formed in the clay wall by means of refractory cement. This heating device may come into play in regulating the temperature of the glass owing through the slot orv in remelting the glass in the slot after the tank has been shut down for repairs or for any other reason.

The glass as it flows from the orifice 2 passes between a pair of cooled rolls 5 and 6 which serve to reduce the ribbon or sheet of glass passing between the rolls to the desired thickness. The rolls are preferabl water cooled by means of connections swiveled to the ends of the rolls as indicated in Fig. 2. y v

The rolls are preferably driven from a motor 8, which is connected with suitable speed reducing mechanism in the casing 9. The shaft 10 of the reducing mechanism operates a worm gear drive in .the casin 11, the worm wheel being keyed to the ax e 12 of the lower roll 5. The axles of the two rolls 5 and 6 are provided with intermeshing spur gears 13 and 14, so that the upper roll is driven from the lower one. The ribbon of glass is-provided with a wire mesh 15 from the spool 16, such wire being introduced into the molten. glass behind the rollers, as indicated in Fig. 1. In order to properly position the wire mesh and apply tension thereto, the grid member 17 is preferably provided, such grid member being made up of a plurality of parallel plates (Fig. 2 mounted upon a rocker shaft 18 and having their lower ends secured together by means 'of the transverse rod 19,

which rod is provided with suitable nuts and spacing members so that-the bars constituing the grid are securely held in their proper relative positions. lIn order to provide the lnecessary tension upon the wire, the ends of the shaft 18 are provided with a `pair of lever arms carrying the counterweights 20. The wire roll 16 is mounted upon an axle 2 1 and its rotation is retarded in any desired way so as to secure the necessary tension upon the wire mesh. This may be accomplished in the manner illustrated by use of the vbrake roll 22 carried by a pair of arms 23, pivoted upon the shaft 24:. The rolls, the grid member, wire roll andv brake device are all mounted upon a framework consisting preferably of a pair of cast side members 25, secured together by the transverse channels 26 and 27.

The lower ends of the bars constituting the grid member 17 are so positioned that the wire which passes thereover is guided so as to bring the wire mesh to the center of the ribbon which is formed between the rollers 5 and 6. This ribbon 28 carrying at its center the Wire mesh, passes upon the series of rolls 29 leading from the squeezing `and forming rolls and through the leer walls are illustrated through which gas' burners may be directed for giving the vleer the proper temperature. This tem erature is highest at the entrance end and ecreases from the entrance to the outlet end. The glass ribbon as it passes between the rolls 5 and 6 has its upper and lower surfaces chilled and much cooler than the center portion an'd in order to properly anneal the sheet, it is necessary after the ribbon or sheet is received upon the transfer rollers 29 to bring the entire body of the sheet' up .-returning beneath a to a uniform temperature from surface to surface. This heatin operation may cause the sheet to sag sli hty between the first few of the transfer ro ers, but as the sheet progresses forwardly, it becomes straightened and gradually hardened until finally a perfectly flat sheet'is secured. The bringing of l the sheet to the relatively high temperature at the beginning of the annealing operation. .insures lagainst any -warping of the sheet after it hardens, which would not be the case if the sheet were allowed to cool down from vided with an additional sprocket 35 and.

the chain 36 passing around that sprocket and around the sprocket 37 keyed to the shaft of theroll 5 serves to drive the chain `32 and the leer rolls, as the sprocket on the roll 34 engages the chain 32. A take-up sprocket 38 mounted for vertical adjustment serves to tighten'the chain 3.6.

What I claim is:

ApparatusA for forming sheet glass comprising a tank containing a bath of molten glass and having an orice leading through one off its side walls below .the surface of the glass, a pair of cooled rolls opposite the oriiice'and s aced apart a distance corresponding to t e thickness of the glass sheet to be produced, and with the upper roll spaced away from thetank, and a grid for guiding a wire mesh between the rolls pivotally mounted above the rolls, and having its lower end between the orifice and the rolls and projecting' down into the stream of glass passing from the orifice to the pass between the rolls.`

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 22nd. day of August, 1922.

FREDERICKv GELSTI-IARP. 

